The Next Generation Affair
by autumnrose2010
Summary: Takes place in the 1990's. Illya Kuryakin helps his cousin to escape the clutches of the son of one of THRUSH's most dangerous criminals.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: If you recognize any of the OC's, they're characters from a series of books by Martin Cruz Smith. I wasn't able to write the story as a cross over because there isn't a category for Martin Cruz Smith._

As he gently laid her head back on the folded coat, he noticed that her eyes were slightly open. But hadn't he just closed them? In the depth of his shock and grief, perhaps he'd only imagined that he had. He reached to repeat the action and felt her blink. "Irena?" he gasped in amazement. Her eyes opened all the way and he saw that she was looking up at him.

"Arkasha?" Her voice was so weak that it was barely more than a breath. "What happened?"

Shaking with emotion, he struggled to maintain his reserve while his mind spun in mad circles. "It's all right, darling," he whispered as he gathered her into his arms.

* * *

Illya was alone in the apartment when he heard his telephone ringing. Marion, Monika, and Nakita were all on vacation together in the Virgin Islands. After her long illness, she deserved a vacation, Illya had reasoned. He'd stayed behind because he didn't have anyone he trusted to manage Vanya's. His son Elijah was now working as a biochemist and lived in an apartment in the same building Ilya himself occupied.

"Kuryakin," he said into the receiver, expecting the call to be purely business.

"Illya?" The voice on the other end was familiar.

"Arkady!" Illya exclaimed fondly. Despite the twenty-year difference in their ages, He'd always been close to Arkady Renko. Arkady was the son of Illya's cousin Sonya. After the loss of both his parents in the Great Patriotic War, Illya had gone to live with Sonya and her brother Boris and their parents. He'd been in his final year of the public school system in the Soviet Union when Sonya had married Kyrill Renko, who had been one of Stalin's top ranking generals. The man had been a highly efficient but merciless killing machine. Illya had recognized at once that he was not the right man for Sonya, but she had been young and in love and not easily dissuaded. Not that she would have listened to the opinion of an eighteen-year-old boy anyway, of course.

Less than ten years later, unable to live with the magnitude of the atrocities of which her husband was guilty, Sonya had committed suicide by drowning. Illya had been extremely sorrowful but not surprised at all when he'd heard the news.

Kyrill himself had died some years later, a lonely and embittered man. His estranged son Arkady was now an investigator living in Moscow, and he kept in touch with Illya frequently.

"Irena and I must leave Moscow right away." Illya could sense the urgency in his cousin's voice. "There's been an attempt on Irena's life. She had an infection, and I took her to a clinic for treatment. While she was there, she was given an injection of ampicillin and went into severe anaphylactic shock right away. All attempts at resuscitation seemed to have been unsuccessful, and they told me she was gone. It turned out that she still had a faint heartbeat, too weak to be detectible, and she revived when I went back to see her. As I was leaving the clinic, I got a glimpse of the nurse who'd given her the injection of ampicillin. She was Galina Albova, the sister of Max Albov. Max is a member of the Russian mafia. I thwarted his attempt to smuggle stolen art out of Russia a few years ago, and now he's seeking revenge. After what almost happened to her, I fear greatly for Irena's safety."

"Of course you are both welcome to stay with me for as long as you need to," Illya told Arkady. "My wife and daughters are out of the country for the summer, so I have plenty of room."

"I appreciate that very much," Arkady replied.

Several days later, Illya met the couple at the airport. "You look very well, cousin of mine," Arkady told him. It was true. Now in his sixties, Illya still had the slender, fit body of his youth. His face was gracefully lined, and his hair, still longish by sixties standards, was now a distinguished sliver dark blond.

"And you as well," he told Arkady. The younger man's various scars from his previous misadventures were, fortunately, covered by his clothing, and Irena was as beautiful as ever. Her light brown hair framed her narrow face gracefully, and her pale blue eyes seemed to gaze right into Illya's soul as he gave her a brief hug. "It is such a pleasure to see you again, lovely lady."

Arkady's arms slipped protectively around his wife's slight body as the three of them walked the short distance to the bus stop. From his own many brushes with death, Illya realized that the woman must still be quite shaken and hoped that she would soon be comfortable in her new surroundings.

"I wonder how much everything has changed," Irena remarked.

"That is right," Illya replied. "You defected to New York some time ago, did you not?"

"It was in 1983," Irena told him. "I worked on Broadway for awhile, then moved to Germany and became a newscaster for Radio Liberty. That's where Arkasha and I finally reconnected, and I returned to Moscow with him during the coup to oust Gorbachev."

"The man meant well," Illya commented. "Perhaps he just came along at the wrong time." As they arrived at their destination and carried their luggage up to Illya's apartment, the former UNCLE agent had mixed feelings about the new situation. As much as he wanted to help his cousin and his wife escape their pursuers, he valued his privacy and cherished the opportunity to come and go as he pleased. Now he would have to get accustomed to having other people around again, and a part of him wasn't terribly thrilled about that.

* * *

"Max Albov?" Napoleon exclaimed. "Why, he's the son of Valery Albov, one of the most deadly THRUSH agents we ever came up against!"

"I realize that," Illya replied. "As soon as I heard his name, I knew exactly who he was. I said nothing as I did not want to make my cousin any more anxious and afraid than he already is."

"That was a wise decision," said Napoleon. "How much does your cousin know about THRUSH?"

"Not much," Illya told him. "During the Soviet era, he was primarily involved in fighting corruption in our own country, and since then, he's primarily been occupied with various facets of the Russian mafia."

"If it isn't one thing, it's another, isn't it." Napoleon sighed. "I hope that Albov and his colleagues can be stopped before they can cause any more damage."

"So do I."


	2. Chapter 2

"I thought for sure she was gone," Galina Albova told her brother, Max. "I injected her with more than twice the normal dosage of ampicillin. I knew how allergic she was and was sure that would finish her off. All her vitals seemed to have stopped. We'd left her lying on the table and went to call the funeral home to make arrangements when suddenly Arkady burst in. We tried to fight him off, but he forced his way into the room where she was and somehow managed to revive her and take her home."

"So the big hero saved the day." Max's voice was cold with anger. "I've been a patient man for several years, waiting for the perfect opportunity, and when it finally comes, it slips right through my fingers." The look he gave Galina made her knees tremble.

She gulped. "I'm sorry, Max."

"Sorry isn't good enough. I won't rest until both of them are dead!"

* * *

"You'll be safe here." Arkady held Irina in his arms, her cheek pressed up against his chest so she could hear his heartbeat. "My cousin is one of UNCLE's most skilled agents, and he won't let anything happen to you."

Irina frowned. "What exactly _is_ UNCLE?"

"An international agency devoted to fighting crime all over the world. Their worst enemy is an organization called THRUSH. They're also international and are determined to rule the world, making the governments of all nations their subjects. They won't rest until they've accomplished their goal, and my cousin's organization is doing everything it can to stop that from happening."

"But what if Max finds us?"

"With all the apartments in New York City, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack, and besides, he'd have to get through Illya first, and with that man's cunning and bravado, he'd have a better chance of winning the lottery."

In the arms of the man she loved, Irina felt herself begin to relax just a little, although she gave a little jump when she heard a knock on the door.

"Dinner's ready," said Illya.

Arkady and Irina followed him into the kitchen to find he'd prepared one of their favorite meals, chicken Kiev.

"This is delicious!" Irina exclaimed as the three of them were eating. "It's so kind of you to cook for us!"

"It's no problem," Illya assured her. Soft jazz played in the background.

"Everything seems so peaceful," Irina remarked.

Illya snorted. "Appearances can be deceiving. Soon I'll introduce you to my former partner, Napoleon Solo. He's in computer sales now, but we're still close, and he promised to help me out any way he could."

Several hours later, the couple were preparing for bed in the guest bedroom when Arkady reached for his wife and pulled her to himself. "When I think of how close I came to losing you, I feel like I never want to let go of you again." His voice was husky with emotion.

"I was so scared." Irina had to blink back the tears. "My throat was closing up and I couldn't breathe, and all I could think was, I'll never see my Arkasha again - "

Arkady's fingers were busy, caressing Irina's breasts through the thin material of her gown. Her nipples hardened in response, and a moment later, he gently lifted the gown over her head and took one of the firm nubs into his mouth. She began to moan softly as he suckled. After awhile his lips began to trace a soft path down the hot skin of her abdomen. She parted her legs for him, gasping as his tongue found her most sensitive spot and darted over it. Within seconds, she was crying out in ecstasy.

He positioned himself over her and entered her, and as he reached his own release, she knew something wondrous was happening deep inside.

* * *

"They've abandoned their apartment," Galina told Max. "I've been staking it out for days, and no one has come or gone."

"I'll check the airports," Max replied. "If they've bought tickets, they'll have the records of the airline and destination." He turned to his computer and began to type, and within a few seconds, the screen was filled with information.

"Isn't it amazing how much easier it is now with the internet?" Galina remarked. "And it's so clever of you to have already learned how to hack into any site you want!"

"Necessity is the mother of invention, my dear." Max licked his lips. "Ah, here we are! They landed in New York City last Wednesday afternoon. Once we get there, it shouldn't be too hard to track them down."

"That's where UNCLE headquarters is," Galina commented. "Father spent a good deal of time dealing with them back in the day, so he's very familiar with the area. I'm sure he'd agree to come along."

"He'd probably enjoy the change of pace." Since retiring from THRUSH, Valery Albov had established ties with the Russian mafia. That was how his son had gotten involved.

As Max picked up the telephone and dialed his father's telephone number, he felt victory was right at his fingertips.

* * *

"This is my former partner, Napoleon, and my son, Elijah," Illya told Arkady and Irina. "And this is my cousin Arkady and his lovely wife, Irina."

Napoleon's formerly dark hair was now steel grey, but he still had a full head of it, and Elijah was blond and blue-eyed like his parents.

"Great to meet you." The young man's teeth were very white against his tan skin.

"It's amazing how much you look like your father when he was twenty or so years younger," Arkady remarked.

Elijah laughed. "That's what everyone ways."

If we ever have a son, I hope he looks just like Arkasha, Irina said to herself.


	3. Chapter 3

"So, what was it like to work for UNCLE back in the sixties?" Arkady asked Napoleon and Illya as they waited for their food to arrive.

"It was a real adventure!" Napoleon exclaimed. "Besides the Cold War and the space race, there was THRUSH to worry about. It seemed they had a new trick around every corner, and your cousin and I had to put aside our personal differences and work together to stop them."

"What was the most exciting thing that ever happened to you?" asked Irina.

"One that particularly stands out in my mind was the time THRUSH found a man who looked a lot like me, performed surgery on him to make him look even _more_ like me, and then tried to use him to fill in for me. Another was when I helped a gypsy leader escape from Terbuf. I'm sure Illya has many that are particularly memorable to him as well. Right, _tovarisch?"_

Illya nodded. "Once I had to return to my homeland to protect her wheat fields from a deadly fungus. After being in the United States for awhile, it was quite a culture shock for me."

The waiter brought their food. "Do you ever miss those days?" Irina asked as she speared a broccoli floret with her fork.

"I _do_ miss the adrenaline rush from time to time," Napoleon told her. "But I also appreciate the relative certainty of living to see another sunrise." He, Arkady, and Irina all laughed.

After their meal, they took a stroll on the sidewalk past the deserted store fronts with the 'for rent' signs out front.

"I remember how, back in 1968, this shopping center was swarming with people," Napoleon recalled. "Murphy's was right over there, Gayfer's was upstairs, and on the bottom level was the pet store. I remember they had a monkey once. Then in the 70's, the suburban malls sprang up and this place was virtually abandoned."

"It seems a bit sad." Irina ran her fingers over the wall of an empty niche where a water fountain had once stood. In 1968, she'd been a student in a Soviet primary school.

"Western decadence," Illya muttered. "What do you expect?"

"I'd _never_ go back to the Soviet years!" Irina exclaimed. "I loved New York City before, and I'm glad to be back - with Arkasha." She slipped her hand into her husband's, and he squeezed it.

Napoleon looked at Illya and grinned, and the latter shrugged and smirked.

* * *

"I've checked with all the motels in the city," Max remarked. "They didn't check into any of them, so they must be staying with a friend or relative."

"Irina did live in Manhattan for awhile," Galina replied. "She performed on Broadway while she lived there. I could pretend to be a recruiter and find out if she's staying with any of her former fellow actors or directors."

"While you're doing that, I'll take a look at UNCLE's personnel list, paying special attention to any Russian names, of course."

Hacking into UNCLE's website proved to be much more difficult than hacking into the airline's website had been, and after several days of trying, Max had almost given up when he tried one last idea and the list of all UNCLE personnel from the early 60's on popped up. One name in particular caught his eye: Illya Kuryakin.

"I heard my father mention that name many times over the years," he muttered to himself. "If anyone on the list has ties to Renko, I'll bet it's him." He noted that Illya had retired years ago. "I wonder whether he's still here in New York," he mused.

A telephone directory was his next step. Luckily for him, there were only two Kuryakins, Illya and Elijah. His heart pounded with excitement as he headed for Broadway to find his sister. After several hours of searching, he finally found out she was talking to a producer in his office. Restlessly, he paced the carpet in the lobby, waiting for her to emerge.

At last Galina appeared, and when she saw her brother, her mouth formed a round 'O' of surprise.

"Come with me," Max told her. "I think I know where to find them."

"Already?" she gasped in amazement.

"I've a hunch he's associated with a retired UNCLE agent named Illya Kuryakin," Max replied. "I have his address, and since it's the middle of the day, I expect he probably isn't home. He'll have a nice little surprise waiting for him when he returns this evening."

* * *

"At least now I feel like I'm earning my keep," said Arkady, who'd just begun working as a security guard at Vanya's.

"Plus it keeps us from having to hang around that apartment every day, bored out of our skulls," added Irina, who was sorting fabrics.

Illya, busy with paperwork, didn't respond. The bell tinkled as customers entered - a middle-aged woman and her teenage daughter.

"Jessica's going to a school dance in a couple of weeks," the woman announced. "We need something nice but not too pricey."

Irina smiled. "I'll be happy to show you some of our latest arrivals."

Arkady watched fondly as his wife led the two customers to a rack of dresses. He imagined Illya's business would easily double and perhaps even triple with the addition of his lovely new assistant. As he listened to Irina's voice, he felt the familiar warmth fill his heart. How he loved her! To think he'd almost lost her, and she still may well be in danger, was almost more than he could bear.

The sale was successfully made, and the rest of the day passed swiftly and pleasantly. At last Illya locked the front door and the trio returned to his apartment.

"It _is_ nice to be back in New York," Irina remarked as she and Arkady strolled along the busy sidewalk hand in hand.

"And this time, I'm not letting you go," Arkady swore.

Illya opened the apartment door to find himself looking right down the barrel of a gun.


	4. Chapter 4

"Hand her over now and you won't get hurt," Max growled as Galina appeared beside him, also holding a gun. Irina screamed as Arkady stepped protectively in front of her.

"Dad?" asked a voice from behind the trio.

Startled, Max dropped the gun, and Illya immediately karate kicked him in the testicles. As Max fell to the floor screaming in pain, the gun Galina held went off and hit Illya in the abdomen.

"Dad!" screamed a terrified Elijah, rushing to help his father, while Arkady dashed into the apartment, grabbed the telephone, and called 911. In the meantime, Galina fled.

Max was still lying on the floor in agony when the ambulance arrived to rush Illya to the hospital. Arkady held and comforted a shaken Irina as his hemorrhaging friend was gently placed on a stretcher and loaded into the ambulance.

"Does he need to go as well?" asked a paramedic, nodding toward Max.

"No," Arkady said through gritted teeth. "There's nothing wrong with him except a well-deserved kick in the _yaytsa._ The police will be along to arrest him soon."

The police arrived as soon as the ambulance had left. Arkady told them everything that had happened, and they grabbed Max, who by now was standing but groaning in pain and clutching his genitals, placed him in handcuffs, and threw him into the back of the squad car, then drove away.

Elijah was crying so hard he wasn't able to drive himself and his father's friends to the hospital. "It's all my fault," he sobbed. "If I hadn't shown up when I did, this never would have happened."

"If you hadn't shown up when you did, they would have taken Irina, and God only knows what they would have done to her." Arkady's voice shook.

"If Dad dies..." Elijah choked up and couldn't finish.

As he was in no condition to drive, he called a cab to take the three of them to the hospital. When they arrived, a nurse told them Illya had been taken back to surgery and there was no news on his condition yet. Elijah immediately went to call his mother. He let the telephone ring ten times and there was no answer.

Maybe they're spending the day at the beach, he thought to himself, planning to try again later on.

Several hours later, the physician came out to talk to Elijah. "We have him stabilized," he told the young man. "He lost a lot of blood, but we transfused him with O negative cells and he's holding his own."

Elijah let out the breath he'd been holding. "Thank God! When can I see him?'

"He's asleep right now. He's been through a lot. I think it would be best if we just let him rest for awhile. He'll probably sleep through the night. I'll let you know just as soon as he awakens in the morning."

"Of course!" Elijah remembered that he hadn't yet reached his mother and went to call her again. Marion answered on the third ring.

"Mom! He's doing OK now, but Dad was shot this evening. He and some friends were walking back from Vanya's, and when they got home, some people had broken into his apartment. A fight broke out, and Dad got shot in the belly. He just now got out of surgery. The doctor said I can see him in the morning."

"Oh, no!" Marion gasped. "I wish we could hop on a plane and fly there right away, but Monika was stung by a jellyfish today and had an allergic reaction. She has to stay in the hospital for a few days. Did they catch the man who shot your father?"

"It was a woman, and she's still on the loose, but they caught the man who was with her. He's in jail now."

"Who are they?"

"I don't know, but apparently the person they were really after was Dad's cousin's wife, Irina. They've been staying with him for a few days."

"My God." Marion's voice sounded weak. "First Monika, and now this! Please, please call me back after you see him in the morning! And give him my love."

"Of course I will, Mom."

* * *

Arkady gently nudged his wife. "Wake up, love. We're here."

"Here?" Irina blinked, disoriented, and then it all came rushing back to her. She opened the door and stepped out of the taxi. Stars sparkled in the clear night sky as Arkady put his arm around his wife and led her back to the apartment. Too tired to shower, they changed into their pajamas and got into bed.

"I feel so guilty," Irina murmured from the warmth and comfort of Arkady's arms. "If we hadn't come to stay with him, this never would have happened."

"Don't blame yourself," Arkady told her. "If we'd stayed in Russia, you'd likely be dead yourself now."

"But now Illya might die!"

"He'll be fine, sweetheart. He's in a safe place, and the doctors are taking good care of him."

Irina yawned.

"Go to sleep now, love." Arkady kissed her forehead, and soon they were both asleep.

* * *

When he entered his father's hospital room the following morning, Elijah saw that Illya's eyes were open. When he saw his son's face, they lit up and he managed a small smile.

"How do you feel?" Elijah asked as he sat down in a chair beside his father's bed.

"All right. They're giving me something for the pain. It helps a little bit."

"Mom sends her love."

Ilya nodded.

"They caught the guy who broke into your apartment. He's in jail now, but his accomplice is still on the loose."

Illya grimaced.

"I sure hope she's caught soon," Elijah continued.

"She?"

"Yes. Don't you remember? There was a man and a woman, and the woman was the one who shot you."

Illya's eyes went wide with surprise.

"Guards are posted outside your room around the clock," Elijah told his father.

Illya looked relieved but didn't feel he had the energy to speak. Already his eyelids drooped from the medication drip.


	5. Chapter 5

Illya was released from the hospital about a week later. Although his abdomen was still quite tender, he was glad to be back on his feet and able to return to Vanya's. In the Virgin Islands, Monika also recovered from her jellyfish sting and left the hospital after a few days.

"We're so very sorry for all the trouble we've caused you," Arkady told his cousin. "It wouldn't be right for you to die because of us. We'll find somewhere else to go where we'll be safe."

"Nonsense," Illya replied. "I refuse to allow those two to dictate how I live my life, and there's nowhere in the world you'll be safer than here."

Irina gave him a grateful hug. She felt terrible he'd been injured and was relieved to see him up and about again.

* * *

Galina was frustrated. She knew she didn't dare go to the jail to visit Max, as she'd been identified as a wanted suspect. She wasn't safe from capture in New York City. The only thing for her to do would be to return to Russia for reinforcement to help break her brother out of jail.

As there was no one to post bail, Max had no choice but to remain in jail until his trial, for which a date hadn't been yet been set. Galina bought a red-haired wig and took the next flight to Moscow. Once she arrived, she drove right to the office of her father, Valery Albov.

Valery's office was located in the basement of an abandoned five-story building. Galina drove her car around to the back entrance and parked underneath a large tree. Then she got out of her car, ran down a short flight of stairs, and then rushed down a dimly lit hallway to an inconspicuous door on the right. She knocked, and a young man with dark brown hair and brown eyes opened the door.

"Hello, Konstantin," she greeted him.

"Hello, Galya," Konstantin replied. "I'll tell your father you're here."

Galina sat in one of two chairs with dark green padding and stared at the bulletin board on the wall, which was covered with newspaper articles clipped from the newspaper and held in place with thumb tacks. One caught her eye, and she stood and walked over to get a closer look at it. She'd just reached the bulletin board when she heard her father's voice.

"Come on in, _dochka."_

She entered her father's office to find him sitting at his desk, smoking a cigar.

"Bad news," she told him. "The trip to America was a total disaster. Not only did we fail to deliver justice, but Max was captured and is now in jail awaiting trial. The Renkos are under the protection of Arkady's cousin, Illya Kuryakin."

Valery's face went dark with fury. "Why, that little twit! I should have taken care of him a long time ago. Never mind, I'll have your brother broken out of jail in no..." He suddenly collapsed and slumped to the floor.

"Papa! Are you all right?" Galina knelt beside her father's limp body, shaking his arm, but got no response. When she stared into his unseeing eyes, she panicked. She jumped to her feet and dashed out of the office, nearly running right over Konstantin, who only stared after her. She swung the outer door open and dashed down the hallway, screaming.

* * *

The ambulance arrived within minutes, loaded Valery's body onto a stretcher and into it, and sped to the hospital. It turned out to be all for naught, as he was pronounced dead upon his arrival. The physician came out to tell Galina, who was waiting anxiously for word about her father.

"I'm sorry," the doctor told her. "We did everything we could."

"No!" Galina screamed. "No, no, _no!"_ She stomped over to the wall and began to beat her fists against it. "This never would have happened if Max hadn't been arrested!" She seethed through gritted teeth. "Now I have another reason to hate Arkady and Irina Renko, and I won't rest until they're both dead!"

* * *

"You have a visitor," the warden announced, opening Max's cell and leading him out. In the visitor's area, he recognized his sister right away, even though she was wearing her wig. He sat down across from her and waited for her to begin.

"He's dead!" she hissed. "When I told him what had happened to you, it was too much for him to take and he went into cardiac arrest!"

 _"Chyort!"_ Max's fist slammed down onto the counter in front of him. "I was wondering what was taking so long! Who'll get me out of here now?"

Galina only shook her head.


End file.
